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Livingston Law Firm shareholders Renée Welze Livingston and Craig A. Livingston were again selected for inclusion on the prestigious Northern California Super Lawyers list to which no more than five percent of practicing regional attorneys are named. Renée was named to the list for her distinguished civil litigation defense practice and Craig was named for his product liability defense work. Both Renée and Craig have been included on the Northern California Super Lawyers list for many years.

"As a firm, we are dedicated to providing the highest quality legal services and delivering positive results for our clients. It is an honor to have our peers recognize us as being at the top of our practice areas," said Managing Shareholder Renée Welze Livingston.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters-owned rating service, evaluates highly-regarded attorneys from more than 70 practice areas through a multi-phase process. Each year, attorneys are selected for inclusion on regional lists based upon peer nominations, peer evaluations and the service's own independent research. The annual Northern California Super Lawyers list is published in Super Lawyers Magazine (Northern Calilfornia edition) and is available online at www.superlawyers.com.

As we know from The Silence Breakers and #MeToo Movement, gender bias still permeates our courtrooms and boardrooms. For this reason, gender bias training is essential for attorneys in all areas of the law. On June 27, 2018, LLF managing shareholder Renée Welze Livingston was a featured panelist on a MCLE program sponsored by the Contra Costa County Bar Association Women’s Section titled, “Navigating Gender Bias: Talks & Tips from Seasoned Practitioners.” Together with the Hon. Ellen James (Ret.) and Hon. Anita Santos, attendees learned how to identify and overcome gender bias for a more gender-neutral professional environment.

Warning requirements are changing, effective August 30, 2018, for products sold in California which contain any of the more than 950 listed substances known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm. Many manufacturers and distributors are unprepared for these changes, some of which impose new warning requirements for internet and catalog sales. On June 13, 2018, LLF shareholder Craig A. Livingston gave a Prop 65 update to members of the Legal & Legislative Affairs Committee of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute at its semi-annual meeting in Overland Park, Kansas. Craig is providing guidance to a SAAMI working group tasked with developing Prop 65 compliance strategies. SAAMI members include large and small manufacturers and distributors of firearms, ammunition and related products and accessories serving the hunting and shooting sports industry.

Crystal L. Van Der Putten began her third year as an adjunct professor at John F. Kennedy University College of Law on May 30, 2018. Crystal teaches first year law students the ins and outs of electronic legal research, focusing on how to create a research plan, develop search terms, think analytically and efficiently use legal search engines to obtain answers to research questions for use in motions, memoranda and more.

Today, shareholders Craig A. Livingston and Crystal L. Van Der Putten filed an amicus curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court on behalf of LLF client, The National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. The brief supports the petition for writ of certiorari filed by plaintiffs/petitioners in the Teixeira v. County of Alameda case out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In its en banc decision, the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of Teixeira’s Second Amendment claims following the County’s denial of a permit to open a full-service firearms dealership in an unincorporated area. The NSSF brief argues that along with the right to acquire and possess firearms under the Supreme Court’s seminal District of Columbia v. Heller Second Amendment decision, there is also a free-standing right to sell firearms, ammunition and related products and services. The brief also argues for the application of a heightened level of constitutional scrutiny to local ordinances, like the Alameda County zoning ordinance at issue, which have the effect of restricting the exercise of fundamental Second Amendment rights. ​​​​

Contra Costa County Bar Association (CCCBA) Past President Phil Andersen (left) and incoming 2018 President James Wu recognized Steve Derby and Renée Welze Livingston as Shining Stars at the board retreat in December 2017.

On July 14, 2017, a San Joaquin County Superior Court jury returned a defense verdict in favor of Stockton, California-based Priority Freight Handling, Inc. in a personal injury action brought by plaintiff William Evans.

​Evans alleged a single cause of action for general negligence against Priority Freight Handling, Inc. stemming from an accident that occurred on May 22, 2012, at a warehouse owned and operated by co-defendant Coastal Pacific Food Distributors, Inc. in Stockton. Evans alleged he was injured using an electric pallet jack to unload a shipment of paper goods he had delivered to the warehouse, and that a Priority Freight Handling employee instructed him on how to use the jack and gave him permission to use the jack even though he was not trained.

Priority Freight Handling denied liability for Evans’ accident, asserting it never gave Evans permission to use the electric pallet jack, and that Evans was specifically informed he could only use the electric pallet jack if he was certified.

Evans alleged he suffered L5-S1 disc protrusion, resulting in back pain and sciatica, which caused him to stop working as a long haul truck driver and required future surgery.

Trial lasted 10 days. Plaintiff asked the jury to award $635,000. The jury deliberated for approximately two hours and returned a defense verdict for Priority Freight Handling, Inc.

Priority Freight Handling, Inc., was represented at trial by DRI member and Livingston Law Firm senior counsel John C. Hentschel.

​Shareholders at Livingston Law Firm Crystal L. Van Der Putten and Craig Livingston recently published their article “Ch-Ch-Ch- Changes: Strategies for Successfully Moving to Change Venue Based on Inconvenience” in the ADC. The Association of Defense Counsel is devoted exclusively to representing the interests of attorneys engaged in the defense of civil litigation. You can read the full article here.